Food. Lifestyle. Ramblings

Month: November 2015

Everyone, has a certain favourite from their mommy’s kitchen, a good, delicious shammi kabob is one of them.

I, fondly remember, mum making these kabobs atleast once a month. She loves everything fresh, from the spices to the produce. She used to make her own chilli powder, garam masala & all that, she still does. The house would be filled with warm aromas of the spices & we instantly would know that, tomorrow would be the “Shammi Kabob” day.

The “Shammi Kabob” day would mean, takeaways & fries & Nintendo , the whole day. How super exciting 😁😁 Mum, would be slogging the day off, with the mixer going on & off, aromas in the house & huge platters of uncooked circular Shammi kabobs, getting ready to be frozen. She would make it by the kilograms, so that it could last a month. Though, I’m in the process of turning into a vegetarian, I sorely miss this one & sometimes, I do cheat & gulp one down. 😱😱

There are so many kinds of mince kabobs, but the all time favorite kabob, has to be this deliciously blended one with a mix of yellow Bengal gram and meat mince.

It boasts of giving your meat a well deserved transformation. If you haven’t developed a taste for shammi kabobs, now u surely will after trying this recipe.

1)After having prepped for shammi kabobs, you will first need to boil the Bengal gram well enough. Make sure the Bengal gram is boiled to a stage where it’s a la dente. Overcooking the lentils, makes it oily upon frying, as overtly soft lentils tend to absorb oil.

2)Boil the mince with a few cloves of garlic, till tender.

3)Next add all dry ingredients and after a nice mix with the spatula add yogurt, ginger paste and garlic paste with 2 eggs. Later add the mix into a food processor and once it’s nice and homogenous, add coriander and mint leaves with finely sliced onions and a juice of lime.

I, saw a certain gentleman on Facebook , hurl expletives at another person, just because the other guy was a Muslim?? 😱😱 Calling him, a ****, blah, blah, & born & bought up as a Jihadi?? 😳😳🙄🙄 And something like all Muslims are terrorists in disguise.

Ummm… Dude, just because I wear camouflage military prints to sleep, doesn’t make me a commando on call. 😒😒

For us Muslims, even a Monk, is a Jihadi. For the humble reason that, he fights desires of this world, to be one with God. For us Muslims, even a woman fasting at the comfort of her home is a jihadi, as she strives to please God & family. A young, handsome man, who retains his modesty & lowers his gaze, while seeing a beautiful lady is a jihadi, because he fights his desire to ogle at the lady. *hoot hoot* 🤐🤐 Nope. No whistles & hoots Sir!!

These struggles, these dilemmas, these continuous self checks, these on the loop appropriate behaviours are the true definitions of jihad.

The past few years, have seen that word JIHAD blow outta proportion. Like seriously people, it’s really getting stale now. How long, just for how long will hatemongers paint Muslims with the same brush? First, I was hurt, then I was angry & at last.. I just became numb.

No, we aren’t taught the art of slitting a carotid along with making play doh figurines.

No, we don’t have lying as a part of our religion… The taqqiyah which people keep putting across, every other day. At, the risk of sounding stupid, I hadn’t even heard of it, until someone posted a huge rant on how “Muslims believe lying is a part of Islam”?? Really?? Wow… Why wasn’t I ever taught that? 🤔🤔

And no, the Peekaboo game, didn’t mean that, we were slim shadies, lurking in the shadows.. Always stalking you😭😭 It wasn’t a precursor to being a conspiracy genius. 😵😵

As Islam, (if hatemongers would ever wanna really do their homework) is a religion of peace & tolerance, the question was raised, whether we could retaliate to injustice or when an enemy attacks. The answer was yes, you could. A military form of war for your SELF DEFENSE was called as jihad too & is known as the “Smaller Jihad”, the “Bigger Jihad” being the control over oneself.

That Smaller Jihad was never encouraged, but if it had to be done, then under a lot of limitations. A few of them are:

You have tried to peacefully reconciliate, yet the opposition stands dead against, only then can any force be used.

You have politically, diplomatically & legally tried to come to a solution & yet the opposition is against.

No children, women, invalids or old people to be hurt.

War victims to be given immediate care.

If, opposition calls for a truce during war, the truce must be accepted then and there, without further damage.

Pardon me, but just about every religion, gives its followers the right to defend themselves. Correct me, if I’m wrong. I don’t intend to hurt anyone. Whether, it’s Christianity, Hinduism, Jewism, Sikhism, etc.. They all allow their followers to protect themselves from harm. What they don’t allow is baseless or vengeful MURDER.

The Quran states that, “If, any of you kills an innocent then it will be as, you have killed the whole of humanity. And, if you saves any, it will be as if you saved the whole humanity”.

I see a lot of the educated & broad minded coterie of people, actually see & voice their opinions very strongly against this discrimination. It makes me feel nice, that there is awareness about this particular aspect. The intellectual lot know better than to just blindly label, everyone in the same category. I’ve personally seen, so many good hearts, chide at their mates for being biased & labelling Islam as wrong. My deepest respects for those people, that just goes onto show how refined they are.

All religions have extremists, people who have their own interpretations of the religion. Much like, that pesky rebel brother/ sister. Who is the black sheep of the family. Someone who upsets & brings a bad name to the family.

Does that mean, that the family is wrong or does that mean, that the individual is wrong? It’s the latter of course!!

We as a community, do feel disturbed, hurt, ashamed & humiliated by the acts that are done in ” God’s name”. It upsets us that, a fraction of Muslims.. Have represented us all?? How?? Even the fingers of your hand aren’t the same.

We don’t throw gala events or host piñata parties, when some part of the world mourns. We mourn along with you. We pray for you. We pray with you.

Terrorism, has no religion. Let’s stop giving terrorists, the luxury of possessing a religion. Feel free to call a terrorist as a terrorist & not as anything else.

We, can’t do this alone. We need each one of you beautiful people, to stand with & by us & tell the hatemongers, that you’re with us in this fight against TERRORISM!!

Ummm.. Okay guys!! I’m literally in a brittle bone situation. This post can pretty surely make or break my elaborate thinking of “I can do any kinda review” 😁😂😂. I, really don’t know, if I should do posts like these. Though “ThePlateMemoirs” is a blog about Food, lifestyle & Ramblings and perfumes do fall within the lifestyle category. I’m still sceptical about reviewing them.

I’m quite passionate when it’s about perfumes. If you follow me on “Instagram”, you will know that fragrances are one of the things i like indulging in. So, do holler, if you would want me to do more of perfume reviews. A louder holler if it’s a big “NOOOOOO” 😬😬😬

Here it goes:

Je me presente ” United Dreams by Benetton” aka United Colours Of Benetton.

The “United Dreams” collection is a peppy, sensual & feminine array of 3 super delish fragrances for women. The collection has been made with emphasis on women & her dilemmas about her dreams. It was launched in the July of 2014. The collection has quite aptly & ever so sincerely named the 3 as:

Stay Positive.

Live Free.

Love Yourself.

I’m a sucker for all things pink & peachy. And… I picked up “Love Yourself”.

I was never the one who’d love “UCB” fragrances, I love my “Guess & Dior” way too much. But this line, had me rethinking about my choices. Everything just clicked for me.

The bottle is a gorgeous see through one with a hexagonal cap. The bottle is easy to carry & literally doesn’t take much space of your vanity dresser either. I adore the fact, that it comes with a great message pasted on the label. If you do need some “Punch Packing” motivation, all you gotta do is read the bottle in your hand. They even have a nice pink ribbon on the neck of the bottle, which says, ” No Dreams. No Change.”

How does “LOVE YOURSELF” smell?

I’ll be honest. I had quite a hard time choosing between “Stay Positive” & “Love yourself”. Both of them appealed me immensely, but the fruity floral of “love yourself” sealed the deal.

For me, this fragrance is a fragile reminder of gardens & refined Victorian settings. Yes, it’s a piece of England, maybe. 😁😍

Notes of this fragrance:

Top notes: Pear, Apricot, Raspberry & Bergamot.

Heart: Jasmine, Freesia & Rose.

Base Notes: Amber, Musk & Sandalwood.

The exquisite notes do nothing but pep you up completely. The first spritz has a beautiful bloom of all the top notes, it’s just so floral fruity. After it settles down & dries, you’re faced with wafts of a powdery rose-sandal kinda scent. Again I love roses & all, so it really does please me immensely.

The longevity is moderate, for about 3 hours at the max. For me, longevity is one of the most important factors after smell. I want noses to make their owners turn towards the wearer. No matter how great the fragrance, if it isn’t long wearing, I’m not interested.

The sillage (see- yaazh, I’ve heard people pronounce it as Sill Age) too is pretty moderate again. But yes, irrespective of things being moderate, I love it. The pricing too is pretty fair enough. This baby lasted me for a whopping 4 months, which is quite great as I used it for daily wear.

Price: Rs. 1800/- for 40ml. (Not very sure, though)

Have you tried the “United Dreams”?? Love it or Hate it?? If you guys are gonna be fine, then maybe my next post is gonna be a panegyric about perfumes. ❤️❤️

So, just about how many of us have obdurately held onto a few pleasures, which time and again, transcend you back to the vivid & hazy memories of “uniform pinafores, tennis shoes, dusty basketballs, chapped knees, lost water bottles, that pedagogue we all were scared of & secrets in the school bus?” Do I see a smile?? Oh yes! Please read on..

I’m sure all of us have those few magic paraphernalias which stimulate that nostalgia. For some, it’s the smell of bread baking, for some the smell of wet earth, for some it it’s a charm bracelet & for some it’s a retro song.

While, I have literally tens & tens of stuff to remind me of childhood, there are but only a few things to remind me of our vacays in India. Like, Papa’s handmade card for my birthday, which I would have been celebrating in India during our vacay ( Which never came on my birthday anyway & came 3 days after papa arrived to India, to escort us back ), Hajmolas, Golas, Chaats & Jaljeera.

Hajmolas are these little button sized chewable tablets, which make you pucker like crazy. Golas are crushed ice Popsicles with syrup. Chaats are sweet-savoury assortments. Jaljeera is a cumin drink, much like a palate cleanser & an aid to digestion.

Imagine the happiness I felt, when I saw “Paperboat drinks”. They have a very apt liner which says, “Drinks and Memories”. This stands staunchly true, when you gulp down those first mouthfuls. Apart from the super cute matte doypack with a spout, the names and their pictorial representations were just really the start. The true conundrum lies in picking your favourite, choosing a few to take back home, leaving the rest on that shelf with a heavy heart. Just how, pray tell me how, does one choose between good memories? How does one choose between reliving a giggle with a cousin, whilst tasting what Jaljeera is for the first time & reliving the excitement of purloining your grandma’s coins for Golas?

I’m a heartfelt hoarder when it comes to “Paperboat”, I’m compulsive buying by the tens. I, get mum her favourite memories & i get me mine. Slowly, both of us have started exchanging memories now 😁😁

My favourites are;

Jaljeera

Kokum

Kala khatta

Tulsi tea( mum’s favourite actually, this was what papa had concocted up for her, when she first landed in Saudi Arabia) ❤️❤️

By that, it doesn’t mean that, i don’t fancy others. Why, I do.. But when these are around, it’s really hard to overlook them.

Brief insights into the product:

They taste amazing great, all of them. Period.

They are packed with benefits for you, like Kokum helps in cholesterol management, anti-inflammatory etc.

The are priced at Rs.30/- , which let’s face it, is pretty dead cheap.

They are great during travels, so convenient to carry around.

The matte doypack with the spout, is just super quirky cute. Look at those pictorials!! 😍😍

P.S: This in no way is a sponsored article, the unbiased opinions and views expressed here are completely my own.

P.P.S: I really, would have loved this to be a sponsored one though, because my stock’s depleting & I’m literally craving to taste their new kid on the block “Anar” (pomegranate), & it seems to be found nowhere😱😢